Free secure cloud storage with SpiderOak Hive

With new cloud storage sites popping up all over the web such as Shared.com and SurDoc, sometimes it’s hard to discern the winners from the losers. Some cloud services are prominent like Dropbox but but not everyone realizes that there are reliable secure alternatives.

SpiderOak Hive is one such alternative.

The advantages of SpiderOak can all be synthesized to three points: security, security and security.

Dropbox is a great service but its Achilles Heel is the fact that it grants users the ability to reset their passwords. At first blush that might not seem like a liability but when you think about it the concern becomes prominent.

Why?

Because if Dropbox let’s you reset your password then Dropbox has the security key to unlocking your files.

I’m not saying there are unscrupulous employees at Dropbox who might countenance such a thing, but I’m trying to make the point that if a hacker compromises Dropbox then that hacker could reasonably gain access to your files too.

Conversely, SpiderOak actually encrypts all your files locally and then uploads the files to SpiderOak but the key to decrypt the files remains securely tucked away on your computer. That’s the advantage.

SpiderOak call this a zero-knowledge privacy policy meaning it has no way to retrieve or reset your password even in emergencies. The disadvantage is if you forget your password and the hint doesn’t help you’re only option might be to create another account.

But ultimately I don’t see this as a disadvantage because it strengthens my confidence, ipso facto, in the SpiderOak security policy. It’s so secure that even SpiderOak can’t get your password for you; only you can which means we as cloud service users need to be more responsible. The onus is on us to protect our passwords and we shouldn’t rely on cloud service providers to come in an save the day.

Our ‘zero-knowledge’ privacy environment ensures we can never see your data. Not our staff. Not a government. No one. The myth about ‘online’ and ‘privacy’ has been dispelled – leaving an environment whereby it is impossible for us to betray the trust of our users

In my estimation, SpiderOak is indeed a better more secure alternative than cloud services like Dropbox; however, both services are still closed-source. Therefore, if the government kicks down the door and issues a court injunction demanding SpiderOak to hand over my secure data isn’t it legally required to do so?

I don’t know much about the legal nuances of cyberlaw and what the government can and can’t do. If you’re versed in this area please share your knowledge comments.